Disagreement between Senate Democrats and House Republicans over the level of disaster funding in a must-pass, stopgap spending bill could lead to a government shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today. “I am not that sure” that a shutdown can be avoided, the Nevada Democrat told reporters.
“We are not going to back down,” he said of Democratic efforts to provide about $7 billion in disaster aid as part of a bill to keep the government funded through Nov. 18.
Reid’s comments came after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that he believes Congress can avoid a shutdown and that an agreement will be worked out.
“There won’t be a government shutdown,” McConnell said. “Congress always responds appropriately to disasters. We are having a discussion about the appropriate way to do that and I am confident it will be resolved.”
The House is expected to send the Senate a continuing resolution Wednesday that funds the federal government for the next two months. The package includes $3.6 billion for disaster aid, and about $1 billion of that funding would be offset by cutting a program that provides loans to manufacturers who want to transform their facilities and build energy efficient products.
But Democrats contend that the $3.6 billion is inadequate, as 48 states have declared emergencies.
The Senate passed standalone legislation last week that would provide $7 billion for disaster aid, and Reid plans to offer an amendment to put the Senate disaster aid package in the House CR when the Senate receives it.
Reid also threatened to work through next week, when the Senate and House are scheduled to be on recess, in order to get the bill passed. Congress has through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, to pass the stopgap spending measure or the government will shut down.
